


When Our Eyes Met

by TeacupPup



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Future AU, I'll try to limit the rin, M/M, Slash, Yaoi, fantasy twist, hopefully, kind of like the little mermaid, makoharu - Freeform, mermaid au, multi chapter fic, side reigisa - Freeform, side rintori, so much fluff you'll choke in it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-02-12 07:13:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2100357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeacupPup/pseuds/TeacupPup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka spent years of his life believing that he would be alone forever. There's a legend among the mermaids that the first color you see is the color of your soulmate's eyes. He didn't want to believe in it until he saw a human boy with stunning emerald eyes that made his heart flutter with newfound hope.</p><p>(Makoharu, reigisa, rintori)<br/>(future au/ mermaid au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Five Years Ago

Five Years Ago...

The sun is a blurry, golden orb that Haru knows he will never reach. No matter how far his tail can carry him, no matter how fast he thrusts it in its rhythmic up and down, it remains impossibly out of his reach. But not even the humans, whose fingers graze the endless obsidian ocean in the sky have touched the sun. They have rockets that puff out little streams of smoke, and men who climb out from them with all the bravery of the world. But no one, not even a single person or mermaid alike, has touched the sun.

Gold. It’s the color that blazed in Gou’s vision, just as she was brought into the world. She told Haru so upon meeting him, remarking to her dissatisfaction that Haruka had blue eyes, not the gold she had been hoping for. Every merchild knew about the legends, the ones that told of mermaids trading their scales for wobbly human legs, the horrifying stories of those who vanished in a tempest without a trace, but the most romantic of the legends happened to be the story about The Eyes. It was a rather simple, yet unexplainable part of a mermaid’s life. When you were born, there was a flash of color that inhabited your vision for a few seconds as your eyes adjusted to everything around you. It’s the only sensation that you’re able to process in your first minute of existence, and the warm, fuzzy feeling that seeps into your stomach carries with you through all the years of your life. And you never forget that stunning hue, because the first bedtime story that you learn as a merchild is that the color you see when you’re born will lead you to your soulmate.

Haru always thought that the whole ordeal was cheesy. How was a color supposed to make you love someone? Twelve year-old Haruka didn’t even understand the concept of love. It sounded like a disease that hijacks your mind and makes you do stupid, terrible things like stuttering and kissing before it leaves you in the hands of some stranger that you’ve fallen completely smitten with.

But whenever his grandmother told him the legend about The Eyes, Haru couldn’t help but gape in awe as he listened. She made every step of the way sound like magic, and the joy in her gaze when she talked about seeing your color reflected in a person’s eyes for the first time made Haru ache to experience that same profound feeling.

“You swim forward a yard, and they turn around slowly. You think that they’ll be any other person, just another two shades away from your color, or even completely the wrong hue. But then they look at you, and you look at them, and it’s like being born all over again. You feel complete, because the very sensation that welcomed you into the world leaps up into your stomach as you gaze into their eyes. It’s a beautiful feeling, Haruka!”

Haru would furrow his brows as she told him that, rocking forward with his nose scrunched up in confusion. “But what if I never find them? What if I forget what my color is?”

His grandmother would laugh, her shoulders shaking and the corners of her blue eyes crinkling. “You’ll never forget! I can promise you that! And it may take awhile, but you’ll find them someday. It usually happens in the strangest of places.”

“But nobody in the city has my color!” Haru cries out. “Nobody has-”

“Shh!” She raised a finger to her lips. “Don’t you dare tell me! The Legend of the Eyes is a serious, romantic matter that should be kept to one’s self! It’s completely rude to pressure it out of someone!” Her stern frown softened to a smile when she noticed how utterly guilty Haruka looked. “It’s your secret to keep, Haru. You don’t need to feel obligated to tell anyone else.”

Haruka glanced down at his aquamarine tail without another word. The thought of telling grandma that his mother had already weaseled it out of him was too mortifying to bear.

Green.

When Haruka first learned his colors, he began to identify his soulmate’s eyes as being green. But as he grew older, and observed all of the different shades and hues living around him, he knew that those eyes couldn’t just simply be called green. All of the greens around him were pale, washed out greens that bore no resemblance to his soulmate’s eyes. The greens he knew were more like minty browns or cloudy yellows. No, he couldn’t simply use a word as broad as green.

Haru thought of the trees, the bunches of summer leaves lining the coast. He thought of the words that Rin’s father used to describe plants beyond the ocean’s reach. Lush trails of grass and vines that stretch up towards the heavens. And one of those words was:

Emerald.

Those eyes had to be emerald like the bright spring grass, and the soft leaves of the ivy vines, whatever those were. A deep, compassionate emerald. His soul mate, whoever they were, had stunning emerald eyes.

 

Haru sighs, his eyes absorbing the last rays of the sun as it sinks under the horizon. Well, if all of that hullabaloo is true, then he’s gonna be a pretty lonely mermaid when he grows up. Still though, not all the families even believe in the legends, he reminds himself. The Eyes is used as a means to flirt more than anything. But… If it is true...

Haru fans out his fingers, stretching them up towards that one golden source of light. He wants to cling to that emerald green as if it alone can shield him from all of his fears. It’s the last sign, or rather, hope he has of ever finding someone that understands him so deeply and completely as his grandmother.

So far, the odds aren’t looking good.

“Come on, Haruka! It’s such a gorgeous day to be swimming!” His grandmother glides through the water to rest right beside him. “Are you ready to go?”

Haru nods, a smile lighting up his face. “Do you think they’ll be faster today?” They swim off towards the currents that everyone uses as a sort of speed playground, and Haru’s itching to get there before it gets too crowded.

“It’s hard to say, really!” Grandma Nanase grins and grabs his hand. She points towards a boat wayward right on the waves. “Look! They’re doing it already!”

Haru gazes over at the swarm of mermen and merchildren around the ship. He can just barely glimpse grins along their faces as they start to slice at the boat’s fishing nets. The ropes tumble down, releasing a whole school of silver fish back into the sea. But what draws his attention is a familiar red-head darting between the others, pumping his fists as the team cries out in victory.

“Oh, that’s your friend Rin, right? I’m surprised that his mother lets him help.”

“She probably doesn’t know,” Haru mumbles. “Let’s keep going.”

888  
That Night  
888

Haruka only knows so much about the humans because of that little boy who reads right beside the beach, and from what Rin’s father tells him. Sometimes that little boy forgets his books when he runs off in a flustered hurry to wherever he lives. And then the next day Haru watches him scurry back and gather them up into his arms. The little blonde's eyebrows always furrow in contemplation as he stands there in silence. He always leaves his outer-space-themed picture books strewn carelessly about the rocks, yet they always end up in a neat little pile out of reach of the waves...

Haru wonders if he’s out there today, turning the pages that have started to reek of salt and seawater from all those weeks of reading. But he doesn’t want to flip through the kid’s books tonight, and besides, the boy never brings anything new and interesting.

It has to be late, judging by the gurgling in his stomach and the fact that sunset is starting. But maybe his grandma won’t care if he’s out for another hour or two.

He spies a ship approaching on the horizon, the hull casted in a soft golden glow. Without a second thought, he pumps his tail down and thrusts himself off towards the strange object floating above the waves. 

He reaches the ship within minutes, which is no surprise, since he’s one of the fastest merkids around (a fact he cares little about).

An unnamable, yet beautiful sound glides out from the ship, surrounding Haru in its rhythm of tones. He jumps out of the water and tangles his arms through the rail surrounding the sides of the ship, pulling himself up so he can see. People clap their hands together as they dance around the deck, those things they wear swaying as they move. To the far right, a boy sits atop a table and claps his hands along with the strange sounds. Haru’s mouth slowly drops open as he observes the clapping boy. His pacific blue eyes shine as the other kid laughs and jumps down from the table.

For a second, Haru forgets how to breathe. His hands tighten their grip around the rails until his knuckles turn white and his stomach launches into a series of somersaults. A rush of heat rises to his cheeks, and he swears he can hear the waves of heat radiating off of them. As soon as the kid turns away, Haruka sucks in a breath. His stomach stops twisting but he’s left with a fuzzy feeling that leaves him feeling warm inside.

Nooo, turn back around, kid!

He needs to see his eyes again. Just to make sure.

“Makoto! Have a dance with your uncle!” A man stretches out his arm and Makoto eagerly takes his hand. The two walk into the crowd of humans stamping around the deck and become part of the movement. Haru’s fingers reach farther around the rail and his tail swishes in the water as the curiosity pulls him forward. He presses his face in between two of the bars and freezes as Makoto and his uncle fly right past, the uncle spinning Makoto into the air.

With a pang of jealousy, Haru lowers himself until only the top of his head is visible. His own parents were Messengers, just like Rin’s father used to be. They never had time to dance with him or send him spinning above the waves.

Rin…

Haru glares at the ripples forming beside him. The merboy in question emerges from underneath the water with a small splash and ringlet of even more ripples. “Oi! Haru! Get down!” His red eyes narrow as he latches himself onto Haru’s arm. Rin yanks him down, but Haru holds tight to the rails with unrivaled tenacity. “Come on! Let go! Haru! They’ll see you!”

Haru frowns down at Rin. “No.”

“Well then at least let me watch too.” Rin laces his finger around the bars adjacent to Haru’s and pulls himself up. When his eyes reach above the side of the ship, Rin gasps. Seconds later, he shakes with laughter. “Look at them! What are they doing?”

“They’re dancing,” Haru says.

“I knew that! But they look so stupid!” Rin laughs again as Makoto trips and lands face first onto the deck. Haru only squares his shoulders, hoping that the poor kid’s alright, and hoping that he’ll turn, just a few inches to the right, and maybe see them, and come over to talk... “Do you think my dad dances too?”

“Maybe.” But no matter how hard he tries, he can’t imagine Daddy Matsuoka’s stunning red scales being replaced by those skinny, slightly unnerving things that the humans call legs. Haru always thought that humans looked clumsy; they fall down and stumble and trip more than they actually walk. Not a graceful bone within them.

Besides, mermaids can’t just sprout legs. Of course, there were stories, there were legends about anything and everything, but none of them were ever true.

And no matter how many merfolk told Rin that little fact, the defiant redhead never dropped the present tense when referring to his father. Not even as the funeral procession adorned the city with coral red starfish in mourning. Not even as the king gave his speech to commemorate the loss of one of the best Messengers in merfolk history.

But then of course, Haru used to sometimes think that The Eyes couldn’t be real either. Yet the beaming, cheerful human boy in front of him defies that very thought. His mesmerizing emerald eyes stand out like a shout from the heavens. Hallelujah, your prayers have been answered!

The heated feeling in Haru’s cheeks refuses to fade and his heart stabs in and out of his chest as if it can’t decide whether it wants to stay or leap out between his ribs.

“Rin,” Haru says, his gaze dead serious.

“Huh?”

“What does love feel like?”


	2. Five Years Ago Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Haru has a Little Mermaid moment, just without the singing.

Rin’s face twists into a disgusted scowl and his bottom lip juts out in a snarl. “Ew! Don’t be thinking about that stuff! It’s gross!”

It takes Haru a moment to respond. “It’s not gross. My grandma talks about it all the time.”

Rin stares back. “Are you serious? Well why don’t you ask her instead! We probably outta head home anyway!” He yanks Haru’s arm again and points up at the gray clouds gathering overhead.   
“There’s a storm coming. That’s why I came to get you!”

A storm? How had he not noticed?

A shout causes both boys to flinch. The boat rocks as men sprint across it, calling back to each other and tossing orange thingies at everyone. The passengers pull them down onto their shoulders without hesitation and Haru notices Makoto’s hands shake as he fumbles with the black straps securing the object.

“Rin, do you think they’re going to make it back to shore?” Haru asks.

Rin squints up at the clouds. Pellets of rain have already started to pound against their faces. “Probably not. It would be some kind of miracle. Why?”

Haru’s mind races. His mouth opens and closes; he can’t find the words.

“Haru, you’ve been staring at that short kid with the funky brown hair the entire time. Do you recognize him from somewhere?”

Haru’s heart stops. “Ahh, no…? But Rin, look at his eyes!” His own shine with excitement, and suppressed worry, because as soon as he finds that fabled “other person”, a storm shows up and threatens to rip them away again.

No. That’s not going to happen. He won’t allow it.

Rin squints at Makoto. “They’re green. Is that why you’ve been staring at him? I’ve seen weirder tha- Haru! Haru!” Rin wheels around, jumping back from the railing and clamping his hands onto Haru’s shoulders. “Don’t tell me! He’s the one! He’s your special person!”

“Shut up,” Haru snaps. Whether he likes it or not, his burning cheeks are giving him away anyway. Rin smirks and lets go with a chorus of “Haru’s got a boyfriend! Haru’s got a-blubbb”s.

“But he’s human!” Rin cries out as he resurfaces. “I don’t know if that’s even allowed, Haru! And he’s a human about to become shark food!” 

“I’m going to get him to shore!” Haru cries back. “And you can either help me or go home!”

“How are you going to get him to shore without him seeing you? And you’re not strong enough, Haru!”

The wind whips their hair back and their faces become darkened from the shadows of the clouds forming overhead. The waves begin to toss against the side of the boat, rocking it this way and that. Water sloshes over Haru’s head and spills out onto the deck. His hands slide down as the rails become even slicker.

“I didn’t ask you!” With every ounce of his strength, he yanks himself himself onto the deck as lightning flares across the sky. Seconds later and the boat shakes from an explosion of thunder. And after a minute’s hesitation, Haru yells out the truth. “And I want him to see me!”

With that, he rolls onto the deck only to be blinded by another strike of lightning. Someone shouts, “Fire!” and instantly the world is cloaked in red.

Red and black.

“Haru!” Rin shrieks. His voice is a distant ringing in Haru’s ears.

Black for the stormclouds, black for the obsidian waves that stretch out in every direction. And red for the fire, the monstrous element that Haru’s only heard horror stories about. The embers flash and spin as the fire soars higher and higher into the night. The humans desperately shove a strange, bulky device towards the edge of the ship.

He’s seen one of those before. At the site of a wreck. A life boat. Haru stares at it, waiting for Makoto to scurry into view and jump into the boat.

“Where’s my nephew?” A man calls out.

He doesn’t.

“Has anyone seen my nephew? Makoto? Makoto!”

A wave crashes over the side and the ship tilts, sliding Haru and the rest of the people on the deck over the side. Another crack of lightning illuminates their terrified faces as they spill into the ocean. Not that one, not him, not her…

Haru flicks his tail as the water swallows him, his eyes roaming the dark waves for the boy. Someone grabs his arm and pulls him forward. “He’s over there!” Rin yells over the screams and booms of thunder. “He’s drowning; we need to hurry!”

Haru streaks forward without a second thought. The world blurs as his tail kicks up and down, propelling him as fast as he’s ever swam before. Bubbles fly up at his sides and his eyes rake the water for green.

“Makoto!” He calls out. “Makoto!”

Rin points up ahead at a limp figure being tossed by the currents. “There! That’s him!” The two mermaids rush to either side of him and lock him between their arms.

“What now?” Haru asks, his eyes wide with urgency.

Rin glares, but he appears just as distressed. “He’s human, you crab-brain! We’ve got to get him air!”

“Air?” Haru leans forward and slams his mouth against the boy’s lips. He breathes out into them but Rin yanks Makoto away and shoves him up towards the surface.

“That’s not going to work! Trust me; I know way more about humans than you!”

Haru frowns but helps Rin push the boy’s head above the water. The rain drills against them as soon as they surface, and the waves constantly slosh against them and knock them back under. “Which way to shore?” Haru yells.

Rin points off towards a small break in the clouds. Haru nods and they each lock an arm around Makoto’s and drag him down below the currents.

“He won’t be able to stay under for long. We’ll have to keep bringing him up to the surface to breathe,” Rin says. Haru doesn’t bother to reply; instead he pours all of his willpower and might into swimming as fast as he can.

 

By the time they reach the rocks surrounding the shore, his muscles are screaming for a break. Haru glances at Rin and the other boy lets go as Haru slides Makoto up onto the nearest rock. Rin collapses against it with a sigh, but Haru only sits next to Makoto with his tail swishing in the calmer waves.

I don’t even know who he is… He traces the boy’s jaw with his finger, then gingerly pokes his cheek. His curiosity brings him to inspect the boy’s legs. They hang loosely over the edge of the rock, and they vaguely remind Haru of the arms of a starfish. Yet when I looked at him…

He notices that Makoto’s mouth is slightly parted, and that his chest is slowly rising and falling to the sound of waves. He’s alive… It really is a miracle.

A smile spreads across Haru’s face. It’s as if a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, but why is his vision blurring?

He wipes at his eyes with a hand and feels the strangest thing gathering at the corners. Water…? A drop tickles against his cheek and drips onto Makoto’s face with a gentle plink! Makoto groans and his eyes scrunch up as his hands clench into fists. Then, his eyes blink open.

A feeling of warmth rams into Haru, taking the breath out of him. He gasps and sits in shock as Makoto looks up at him, his eyes hazy and distant. “Uncle?” he whispers. Haru opens his mouth, but no words come, so he settles on shaking his head. Makoto’s brows furrow and he tilts his head up to get a closer look.They stare at eachother, Makoto’s puzzled frown transforming into an awestruck gape as Haru stares down at him in disbelief.

Why can’t he move? Why won’t his mouth work, or his gaze drift away? Why can’t he say something, or at least stop staring? Even doing something stupid, anything would be better than freezing up like an imbecile!

“Who are you? Did you save me?” Makoto murmurs.

Haru’s mouth parts and he takes in a deep, shaky breath. He should tell him how beautiful he is, even though he has those flimsy legs, and that he hopes to see him again and-

With a loud splash, he tumbles into the water. Bubbles swirl around his head and he flicks his tail in agitation, wheeling on the otter-turd who ruined it. Ruined it, ruined it!

“I was about to talk to him!”

The other mermaid pulls him down deeper into the water. Their red eyes glint and their hands tighten their grip on his arms. “That’s exactly why I stopped you!”

Insults fly through his mind as he glares back at Rin. They glower in silence for a few seconds, but Haru only sighs and turns his head away, the strange water once again blurring his vision.

“I wouldn’t have stopped you,” he whispers. “Had that been you. How could you…” Haru tears his mind away from it, the cracks already spreading through his thoughts. He has to forget.

All of it.

Or the “What If’s” are going to rip him apart, and the regret will devour every last shred of him.

So he swims, until he can’t see the shore, until he can’t hear Rin calling out his name, until the muscles in his tail and his arms scream for him to stop. But he doesn’t, he can’t.

What if he never sees Makoto again? Then he’ll never know if his grandmother was right, if soulmate’s really exist, if any of it was even real at all.  
What if…

It’s already starting.

**Author's Note:**

> Yo guys, thanks for reading! Sorry if it was too wordy, that's a bad habit of mine. Also I plan to make the future chapters longer (this one was kind of short) and my goal is to update at least once every week :) Have a great day! Please let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> Oh if someone can tell me how to fix the freeform reigisa thing in the tags that would be great. I can't get the tag to delete so I can retype it.


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